The personality of an individual is often judged by his looks. A beautiful smile brings immense pleasure, not only to the viewer but also to the wearer of the smile. Time and again in dentistry, esthetics has been the prime area of focus. Prosthodontic rehabilitation also involves esthetics as its key factor, which is challenging especially in patients with congenital diseases or syndromes. Ectodermal dysplasia is one such hereditary condition associated with failure of the development of ectoderm in the embryonic stage and can cause multiple abnormalities. The ectodermal structures like skin, nails, hair, sweat glands, and teeth are particularly affected. The management of ectodermal dysplasia is quite complex and multidisciplinary owing to the abnormal morphology in craniofacial structures, a wide array of dentofacial defects, and age of the affected individuals, as most of them are very young when they report for or are evaluated for treatment. The deciduous as well as the permanent dentition in these patients may present with anodontia, hypodontia or oligodontia or combination of these. Hypodontia is one of the most common intraoral finding among these scenarios. Therefore, the affected patients obviously require absolute attention towards prosthodontic treatments throughout their developmental years till their adulthood.
This report presents a case of an adult diagnosed with having ectodermal dysplasia with hypodontia. By appropriate modification and customization, the prosthodontic management was meticulously planned for the young patient which involved a full mouth rehabilitation with tooth supported fixed prosthesis in the maxillary and mandibular arch. The devised treatment plan had a key impact on the psychological, the masticatory function, speech and facial esthetics of the patient.
